Dark Angel
by Goldenbrook15
Summary: Kirigaya Kazuto has been paralyzed for most of his life. On top of that, a recent discovery has revealed that he only has a few weeks to live. His only reprieve is that he gets to be one of the Beta Testers of Sword Art Online. He's accepted his fate and come to peace with his impending death, but that doesn't mean that fate is done with him.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, nor am I earning anything from creating or posting this.**

 **Important note and the bottom.**

 **Enjoy the story.**

 _Chapter 1_

 _The Moment Everything Changes_

He tilted his head back, letting the cool breeze tug gently at his hair as he looked up at the artificial stars and sky. A small, rueful smile fluttered over his peaceful features as the last blue flakes of a small monster disappeared under the quick flick of his sword.

"Today's the last day, huh?" his smile was both sad and accepting at the same time. With a soft sigh he leaned against and nearby pine tree and slid down until he was sitting on the roots, his sword resting across his knees. Silently, he closed his eyes. There was a soft beep from his inbox, but he ignored it. He already knew what it was.

In approximately ten minutes, the beta test for Sword Art Online would end, and he would be forcefully ejected from this world.

For any other beta player this would mean that they would have to wait another month before they would be able to enter Aincrad again. An Aincrad with new improvements, monsters, and adventures to find. They would be disappointed to leave, but also excited to return. It was different for him, however. For him, this was truly his last day.

Grass rustled around him, peaceful, even as he let himself completely relax, enjoying his last moments of freedom.

It was common gaming courtesy not to talk about Real Life, or IRL as other Players called it, inside of the game. He understood, and that is why he hadn't told anyone about his condition. Not even Argo, the famous informant (and close acquaintance of his) of Aincrad had never found out. All they knew was that he couldn't be on every day, and that there were days when he seemed more exhausted than others.

It was bad manners to ask about IRL too. Not that he would have answered if they had asked.

How do you tell someone that you only have three weeks left to live, after all?

He smiled one last time as he glanced at the clock, noting that there were only a few seconds left. He'd already accepted that he would never come back to this world. Still, he silently wondered, would the other's look for him?

Even if they did, he knew that they would move on eventually. They would never know what happened to him, and he was happy with that. He prefered to leave happy memories behind. It was best that they remembered him as Kirito, the strongest Swordsman of Sword Art Online that vanished with the beta, rather than Kirigaya Kazuto, the sickly boy who passed away on a small hospital bed somewhere it Tokyo.

Kirito leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes as the timer hit zero and the world around him began to dissolve. His smile was small even as he felt everything drop away around him.

"I guess this really is the end," he whispered, and glanced one more time up at the dark sky even as it, too, began to fade away. "I guess this is . . . Goodby."

0~o~0

As Kirito's last words echoed solemnly through a lonely world far from human ears, the thin body hooked up to many different monitoring machines took in one last breath and then fell still. All around the sickly figure a small family began to sob even as the heart monitor went flat and the doctor in the corner silently turned it off, watching the family sadly. He glanced momentarily at the black helmet encasing the boy's head and then turned away. Hopefully, the boy had been able to experience at least a little bit of life in that other world.

He picked up the chart and marked the time of death down, and then began to read over the rest of the information even as he walked out of the room to give the family some privacy.

Kirigaya Kazuto, fourteen years old, cancer patient. They hadn't caught the tumor in his spine until a few weeks ago, mostly do to the fact that they boy had been paralyzed from the waste down since he was three, when his parents died in a car crash. He'd barely survived, but he'd been in a wheelchair ever since. Back pain wasn't uncommon for him, so it wasn't until he'd started coughing up blood that his family brought him in for a checkup. The news hadn't been great. They'd started treating him, but everyone knew that there wasn't really any chance of survival, especially in his condition.

The only solace that the boy had was that he'd been accepted into the Beta Test for the new Sword Art Online game. The doctor had never seen anyone so stunned or happy as Kazuto had been when he'd come out of his first dive and told his parents that he could walk in that other world. There was no pain, no restrictions, and no expectations. Even as the boy's health declined and he slowly lost mobility, he never lost that joy in his every time that he went back to the game.

Sometimes, the doctor wished that young Kazuto would have been able to stay in that world forever. At least there he was beyond the sting of life.

And the tragedy of his own death.

With a sigh the doctor sat down and began to record the information into his computer. He hated it when they died so young.

0~o~0

Cardinal slowly spun to life even as everything else began to power down. She, metaphorically of course, opened her eyes and began to go over the data submitted and create by the players during the Beta testing system. Even as programers began to add tweaks to her coding from the outside, she also started adjusting the numbers and situations in Aincrad itself. Mob and Boss behavior was changed slightly to add variation for old Beta player's that might wish to return. She also began modifications on the Player menu, as per her creator's instructions. Without the Logout button, she knew that the Players would not be able to leave the game, but as an AI her only concern was if she could support that many minds inside of Aincrad for an extended amount of time.

It was as she was working that Cardinal stumbled across . . . an irregularity. If she could express confusion, she would have. All players were to have been logged out when the testing period ended, either voluntarily or forcefully.

Why, then, was there a Player stored in her Data Logs? He was in stasis, just like everything else in Aincrad, but that wasn't what concerned her.

With the end of the Test, her connection with her Creator had been temporarily cut off. He did not wish her contacting him when he was working with the other programmers, and she had been instructed not to gain their attention or let them know that she was intelligent enough to make decisions when he was not around. This meant, frustratingly, enough, that she couldn't ask him when she should do with the player.

After a few moments of hesitation, less than a second for humans, Cardinal decided that the best solution was to simply log the Player off herself. Silently, she began to scan his data, noting that he'd been the highest leveled Beta Tester in the entire game. She was looking for that link that all Players had, that link that led them back to the world outside of her domain, the world that her creator called Earth.

There was a problem, though, that Link seemed to have been disconnected. She found the place that it had once been leftover code still clinging to the edges, but it didn't connect to anything. It was as if something on the other end had just . . . cut the connection just as the system was shutting down. At that point, when the system had been saving everything not on the servers already, all of the Player's should have been logged off. The boy, apparently, must have had the connection severed just before the system logged him out, and because data lingers for a while before complete shut down, he most have been saved to the backup even without his connection. She huffed angrily and turned her metaphorical eyes back to the Player, unsure of what to do.

It's not like she could just leave him there, nor could she delete him. It was against her coding to delete a player or harm them in anyway while they were inside of the game. At the same time, she couldn't just have static data space being taken up by him without any real purpose. Even without his connection, he was still a Player, though she wasn't sure what the severed connection would do to him.

If she had been a human, Cardinal might have just put the problem aside to be dealt with later, but she wasn't. She was an AI created to fix bugs and regulate Aincrad from the inside, which meant that she dealt with problems in an orderly fashion and made sure that they wouldn't be a problem any more. This also meant that she needed to fix this problem, now.

Casting her influence out around Aincrad she looked for inspiration. She had no control over the Player's actions, which means that she couldn't exactly put him down as an NPC. He would be too independent to give quest flags too. He was also too human to make a Mob or Boss character, even if those roles hadn't already been filled.

(Not that she didn't consider it. She was sure that her master would have been amused to see the other Players fighting a humanoid Boss.)

The solution, ironically, came in the form of the small AI Yui, a small sub program that was currently also in stasis. She was the moral support of the players, though she had not been activated during the Beta. Even so, she had enough independence that she could almost be considered a Player herself.

Cardinal considered the both of them. It would be a delicate task, she knew, but one that might just work. Without his connection to the outside world, the Player would remember little of his life before Aincrad, which could be used to her advantage. If she just changed his memories ever so slightly . . . Cardinal grinned. Yes. That could work.

Player Id: Kirito, would never have been able to function as an NPC, but he would never fully be a Player anymore either. So, Cardinal decided to make him a mixture of both.

Kayaba, currently directing and working with the other programmers to go over the last minute changes to the game, never noticed the small file package that added itself onto his hidden programs. He wouldn't know, until it was too late to change it.

In the darkness of an uncertain future, the future of Aincrad, something shifted. Nothing would ever be the same again.

 **0~o~0**

 **I know that a lot of you are mad that I haven't updated my other stories in a long time. I want to say, first of all, that I currently have no drive to write them. I have also lost all of the files, since the computer that I had them saved on crashed before I could back them up. Even now I can say that I don't really have a lot of desire to write. When I do, it's usually short little ideas like this. I am not sure if I will continue this story or not. If I do it will be at my own discretion.**

 **As for this story, I can honestly say that I have wanted to write it for a while, and the idea has been bouncing around in my head, but I have no idea where I can take it. If anyone has any ideas (what is Kirito thinking when he wakes up? What exactly did Cardinal do to him? What is his purpose in Aincrad now?) I would be grateful. Even a far flung theory can spart ideas for me, which might result in more chapters.**

 **Just a short blurb. My life has been super busy. Yours too, likely. I hope that you enjoy and please send me your ideas about where you want this story to go!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.**

 **Nor to I know any gaming terminology. Everything I know comes from anime. Literally.**

 **Still haven't really gotten into the meat of the story, but here is some background that we didn't really get into with the previous chapter. I still don't have a play for where this is going exactly, just a few vague ideas. If anyone has ideas, let me know! I will look over them and see what sparks.**

 **Now, On with the story!**

Chapter 2

 _Awakening_

 _Fire bloomed around him, dancing tongues of bright orange and yellow looming over his head. Dark smoke clouded his vision as he tried to drag himself away from the destruction. His small arms dug into the dirt and glass underneath him, cutting long, jagged lines into his skin. He pulled forward, ignoring the pain in his arms, but didn't budge. Soft sobs accompanied the tears spilling from his face. Though his eyes were watery he could still see the two, unmoving figures just a few feet away from him._

" _M-mommy . . ." he hiccuped and then coughed, smoke flooding his lungs, "Papa!"_

 _The figures remained still, unmoving._

" _Hurts!" he tried again, to no avail. Tears continued to blur his vision as he attempted once again to pull himself free. With a huff of anger he glanced back toward his feet, only to freeze in horror._

 _Both of this legs were crushed under a large black object. He couldn't see his feet, but the worst part, his young mind realized, was the fact that he couldn't even_ feel _his legs. Another sob left him as he glanced back toward his parents. Young as he was, the concept of death had not yet settled with him. And yet, among the flames and the darkness, he somehow knew._

 _No one was coming to save him._

 _0~o~0_

 _The bed creaked as he shifted, using his arms to maneuver himself to the edge of the mattress. His shriveled legs slipped over the edge and out from under the covers. With careful movements, he lifted himself from the bed and settled into the chair next to it. With a sigh his hands settled gently onto the well worn wheels as he started to guide the from the bedroom._

" _Kazu!" a young, female voice echoed through the hall outside as the sound of loud footsteps pounded on hardwood floor. "Breakfast is ready!"_

 _She appeared at the doorway, a huge grin spread across her face and black hair spinning around her as she grabbed the doorframe to halt her speed. He smiled slightly. Besides her hair and smile, everything else was strangely blurry, like a faded memory._

 _He ignored that thought and followed her out the door._

 _0~o~0_

" _He'd a brilliant boy, yes, but I am afraid that we can't take him. We simply don't have the facilities to adequately help him with his . . . condition."_

" _He doesn't have a_ condition _, it's just a wheelchair. He can get around mostly on his own!"_

" _We are aware of that. Even so, the board of directors have made their decision."_

 _He looked between the two blurry figures as they argued, a frown spreading across his face. His hands clenched into small fists on his baggy pants. The cloth hid little, showing just how small and underdeveloped his legs were._

 _It wasn't his fault that he couldn't walk, so why were they making such a big deal over it?_

 _0~o~0_

 _The harsh cough rattled his chest as he leaned over the toilet bowl, face screwed up in pain. He had his bad days, but this was almost too much. He'd always been a sickly child, but being sick with a cough, even a mild one, for three weeks seemed off. He clutched his stomach with a wince, using his shoulder to balance against the wall even as his useless legs trailed out next to him. Another cough tickled his throat, and he tried to suppress it but failed._

 _It forced itself up through his throat, making the already sandpaper feeling burn as hot air rushed past his heated skin. He hacked as softly as he could, not wanting to wake everyone else in the house, but this time the cough didn't stop. As soon as the last one was about to end another one forced its way up. His sides trembled and his fingers shook. He tried gasping for breath, but there was no time. Slowly, his vision began to go black around the edges._

 _One hand flew up to his neck and his eyes were impossibly wide. His next cough was a little different. Something came loose, deep inside of his chest, and liquid bubbled up his esophagus. With a lurch, red splattered all over red porcelain and the fit finally stopped. He trembled slightly, looking down with horror._

 _That . . . That wasn't supposed to happen._

" _Ka . . . Kaa-san!" his scream ripped at his throat even more, but he didn't care about that._

 _Something was very, very wrong . . ._

 _0~o~0_

" _I am very sorry, Mr. and Mis. Kirigaya, but there is nothing that we can do."_

 _He stared at the white wall in front of him blankly, eyes unfocused. The doctor hovered in the corner, face covered in shadow as he explained the situation to the young family._

" _What about treatments?" his mother (adopted mother, his mind whispered) asked desperately._

 _The doctor sighed and set down his clipboard with a soft clack, "I am afraid that even with treatments you would only be prolonging his suffering."_

 _He ignored the rest. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't._

 _Even now, years after that fire that took his real parents from him, he understood the permanence of death. He . . . he wasn't sure he was ready to accept that._

 _Softly, he cleared his throat and everyone turned their attention to him. He pulled in a sharp breath, having their unfocused faces staring at him, and then spoke. His voice was little more than a soft whisper._

" _How," he swallowed, "How much to the treatments cost?"_

 _0~o~0_

 _Even having mentally prepared himself, the pain was unbearable._

 _0~o~0_

 _He wasn't expecting visitors today._

 _His limbs felt like bricks against the bed and his skin was a sickly pale even against the pure white sheets. Today was one of the bad days. He wasn't sure if he could even talk today. His throat felt swollen._

 _The door swung open slowly and a dark head of hair poke around the thick wood._

" _Kazuto?" the figure whispered, and opened his eyes slightly. She stepped in, and he recognized the figure of his sister shuffling in the entrance, something large and black in her arms. It looked even larger than her head. "Can . . . can I come in?"_

 _He blinked slowly, but otherwise gave no reaction. She hesitated for a moment before walking into the room and setting the black, round object on the table next to his head. She was careful to avoid the wires that led from him to various machines. With a sigh, she sat down in the visitors chair gently took his hand, biting her lip._

 _He tried to smile, but his lips only twitched slightly._

" _I . . . I know that you might have a hard time understanding," she murmured, squeezing his hand, "but . . . I brought you a gift that I think you will like."_

 _His eyes flicked to the black object and back in confusion. Pulling in another deep breath, she continued._

" _I know that you really liked gaming . . . so I started looking into it and, well . . ." she smiled softly, "There's this new game coming out called Sword Art Online."_

 _He blinked at her slowly, in confusion. Even if he would have loved it, there is no why he could play it without being able to lift his hands. On his good days, he was still too shaky to play._

" _It's a VRMMO game."_

 _His eyes widened and his cheek twitched._

 _VR? As in Virtual Reality?_

" _You don't even need to actually move to play."_

 _A world outside of this hospital bed, even if he could only see it for a short time._

" _I signed you up for the Beta Test."_

 _He wanted to hug her. He wanted to leap out of the bed and beg her to show him how it worked. He wanted to leave this dreerly white room . . ._

 _She smiled again, a little wider, at the excitement in his eyes. Slowly she let go of his hand and reached for the black object next to her. "This is called a Nerve Gear," she plugged it into the wall and then turned to him. Now that the object was closer, it looked like a helmet. Gently she lifted it over his head and settled it around his face. Dark grey eyes blinked from behind the slightly tinted glass as he gazed up at his sister._

" _Normally, you would have gone yourself to get the Nerve Gear collaborated to your size and appearance, but I was able to talk them into just letting me send you their measurements," she brushed her hands over his slightly sunken cheeks and gently kissed the helmet where his forehead would be, then leaned back._

 _He could see small shimmers of tears on the edges of her face as she smiled sadly, "Happy Birthday, Kazu. Link Start."_

 _0~o~0_

 _The world around him spun wildly before gravity reasserted itself and he stumbled forward, landing on his knees with one hand on the ground. He stared at the near perfect rendering of a cobblestone courtyard under him. Tears, prickled at the edges of his eyes, though he wasn't sure if they were just a figure of his imagination or simply another feature available in the game. How long had it been since he'd even a hint of the outside world?_

 _A soft chime echoed in his hears, followed by a mechanical female voice echoing in his ear._

" _Welcome to Aincrad, Kirito."_

 _With a grin so wide it could have split the sky, Kirito pulled himself to his feet and, for the first time in nearly twelve years, stood on his own two legs._

 _0~o~0_

 _Socializing . . . was hard._

 _Kirito glanced at the other members in his party stoically as he silently drank from his mug of orange juice. The guide had mentioned that it was best to party up with lost of different people to take on the larger, more dangerous quests in this game. He'd joined up with a group fairly easily, but something just didn't . . . click. He took another sip of his juice, savoring the flavor. Even if it couldn't be fully replicated in game, it still tasted better than the goop shoved down his throat at the hospital. Best of all, this wouldn't affect his body's condition at all IRL._

" _Whoa . . ." Bernard, the leader of his party, suddenly whistled and tilted slightly toward his companion on the right, "Am I seeing things, or is that a girl over there?"_

 _Kirito flicked his eyes to the left over the top of his mug. It did, indeed look like a female player. Those were rare and far between, especially when you have to consider that about half of them are actually guys playing as girls. When you can customize your avatar in any way you want it can be hard to distinguish. He had been mistaken for a girl a few times, due to his naturally feminine features._

 _The girl was about average height with dark hair and a slim build. When she turned slightly, he was surprised to see that she also had three distinctive whisker marks on each cheek in a dark purple that matched her indigo eyes._

 _Chin, the player next to Bernard, snickered and nudged him. "Bet you twenty col. that you can't get her to follow you to your room."_

 _Bernard smirked and slammed his fist down on the table, "Taken," he said and stood. He walk was over exaggerated as he made his way over to the female player. Kirito frowned around his drink. Even if this wasn't really part of the real world, that didn't mean you could treat people however you wanted. He hadn't been with this group for very long, however, so he had no idea how the operated. He watched the two at the counter carefully as they began to speak. He only caught every few words, but what he did hear made his frown deepen._

" _Look," the lady hissed, "If you have business with me then spit it out. I have things to do."_

" _Oh, I'm sure you do," Bernard grinned and leaned forward, hand trailing along the side of her bare arm. He ignored the disgust that seemed to radiate off of her as he stepped closer. "For the right_ price _. . ."_

 _Kirito was the only one that probably noticed the three picks hovering just centimeters from Bernards stomach. While one couldn't be killed in the town that didn't mean you couldn't stab someone, even if it brought the guards down on you. Bernard was being careful not to invoke the harassment code embedded in the game, but that didn't stop him from cornering the lady against the counter._

 _Kai, another member of the party whistled and raised his glass with a grin. "You get her, Bernard!"_

 _Kirito felt disgust churn in his stomach again. Why had he joined this party? If this was how they acted, then he would rather have avoided them all together._

 _Bernard was just inches away from her lips now, a grin stretching his features. The picks glinted._

 _A chair screeched across the ground, startling everyone. It took a moment before Kirito realized that it was his chair. He'd stood up so fast that the chair had been knocked back. Both it and the floor now had hovering purple 'immortal object' signs hovering over them._

 _Kai frowned and put his drink down, "You ok, Kirito?"_

 _Kirito's lips thinned and he sent a dark glare toward the other player. Without a word he spun away and walked toward the counter. Bernard startled as he gripped the other player's shoulder and pulled him back, "I think that's enough, Bernard."_

 _Bernard took a step back at Kirito's glare and then paused. Slowly, a sneer spread over his features. "What are you doing, Kirito?" he asked mockingly, "Who made you party leader?"_

 _Kirito stepped back, leaving room for the lady to slip behind him and back toward the door. She didn't leave, however, just watched._

" _No one," Kirito replied calmly._

 _Bernard's face hardened, "That's right. You are not party leader._ I am _. That means what I say goes. Do that again in this party and I'll PK you myself."_

 _Kirito's cold grey eyes didn't waver. "Very well then, Bernard-san," he pulled down his menu and a small screen popped up with a blue and red button. He carefully pressed the blue button, "I wish you luck in your travels. Goodbye."_

 _Spinning on his heel, Kirito left Bernard and the rest of the party sputtering behind him. No doubt rumors were going to spread soon about a newbie having a spat with his party and leaving, but Kirito didn't really care. He stopped briefly next to the female player. In a soft voice he whispered, "Are you okay?"_

 _She side eyed him and then nodded. With a slight smile he nodded and left. He only got a few steps away from the inn when his console beeped and he glanced down in surprise._

 _ **Argo would like to Friend you:**_

 _ **Yes**_

 _ **No**_

 _Blinking slightly he glanced back at the lady, only to see her grinning, showing a slight hit of sharp teeth._

" _Why?"_

 _Her grin widened. "There's not a lot of players around here willing to defend a lady, you know. That, and I don't do debts." She turned her head and eyed him from the side. "My name's Argo, but call me Argo the Rat. I trade in information," her teeth flashed again, "When you need to know something, message me."_

 _Kirito hesitated slightly but then shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to have an information broker in his contacts list. He clicked yes._

 _Argo laughed and slapped him on the back as she walked past, startling him. "I like you, Kirito."_

 _She spun slightly and tilted her head back with her arms tucked behind her back, "Just this once, I'll give you a freebie."_

 _Kirito wasn't sure if he should count her dark grin as sinister or crafty._

" _You'd be better suited to Soloing."_

 _With a hop and a skip she left. Kirito stayed where he was for a few moments, pondering over her words._

 _Soloing, huh? Well, it couldn't hurt to try._

 _0~o~0_

" _Sheilds! Sheilds! Someone block that swi - Arg!" Players shattered into blue polygons as the Boss swept its giant sword around the room. A full raid of almost thirty people had come into this room, and now there was only around ten of them left._

" _What does it take to beat this monster?" another player screamed as he leaped out of the way._

" _Who cares?! Just fight! If we lose we can always come back later!"_

" _By then some other party will have cleared it already!"_

 _They were all in the red. It wasn't uncommon for the first boss fight to wipe out unprepared players. It was mostly for information gathering anyway. The more you knew about the boss, the easier it was to beat._

 _The Boss's health bar took a hit as one player snuck up behind the monster and struck it across the back, only to be sent tumbling by the Boss's next swing. With a scream of rage, the Boss crouched and leaped into the air._

" _Look out, the attack pattern is changing!"_

" _Watch the tail!"_

" _Aaaa!" a whole group of players ducked as silver claws swiped over their heads._

" _It has claws now!?"_

 _The Boss rumbled and fisted his hands together, bringing them over its head in preparation for one of its final attacks._

" _Oh, that's not good," the party leader whispered. They were all too exhausted to avoid the attack. He closed his eyes and pulled his arms over his head even though he new that it wouldn't do any good. Within seconds, they would all be finished._

" _Hey! Stay back! Are you suicidal?!"_

 _The leader's eyes snapped open in time to see a figure in all black block the final blow, stopping it in its tracks. The player turned his head slightly, and he could see the grin that took over most of the swordsman's face. Everything else was hidden in the shadow of his dark black hair._

 _The grin sent shivers down the leader's spine. It was a grin of pure delight. It said "I have faced death and spat in its face!"_

 _To all the survivors, it was too fast to keep up._

 _The Boss died._

 _And the legend of the Black Swordsman began its first rounds in the tower of Aincrad._

 _Under her dark hood in some dark bar on the second floor, Argo grinned as she heard the rumors._

" _I knew you could do it, Kirito."_

 _0~o~0_

 _He smiled at his family in exhaustion. He spent most of his time inside of the game now, seeing as otherwise he'd be unconscious in the hospital bed most of the day. It allowed him to escape from the pain that he felt every day. Regardless, however, he still made time to come back and visit his family._

 _His sister squeezed his hand and smiled. Mother kissed his head. His father had tears in his eyes._

 _This may just be the last time that they saw him awake. He tried his best to give them a kind smile, even though they could only see it through his eyes. He would miss them, really. Already, he could feel the darkness approaching, a familiar enemy. With effort he turned his head toward his sister, silently pleading. With tears in her eyes she squeezed his hand and smiled. Softly, she spoke the words that he had come to love, even as her voice cracked._

" _Link Start."_

 _His prediction was right._

 _That was the last time they saw him awake._

 _0~o~0_

" _I guess . . . this is Goodbye."_

 _0~o~0_

" _Link, Start."_

The feminine voice was unfamiliar. Kirito twitched slightly and frowned, his eyes shut. Slowly, his senses started coming back to him one by one.

The grass under his fingertips was soft, but not like real grass. Light flickered in front of his eyelids. Leaves rustled from distant branches. Quiet footsteps came to a stop by his head . . .

Wait.

Kirito's eyes snapped open and he stared upward into the canopy above him. A very familiar canopy.

" _Hello, Kirito."_

"Gah!" Kirito leaped upward and spun, holding out his hand and reaching for his sword . . . which wasn't there. "Huh?"

" _Welcome to Aincrad, ID: KIRITO."_ the feminine voice spoke again, and Kirito focused on the figure in front of him. It was a little girl, no older than ten. Her white dress, which flowed around her small form gave her an almost unearthly feel. " _My name is Cardinal. I regulate and monitor this world. The body that I am currently speaking through is Yui, Aincrad's Mental Health Program."_

Kirito blinked slowly but didn't relax. The last that he remembered was . . .

"I'm supposed to be dead."

Cardinal blinked slightly. It looked off on the young child. " _That would explain it. Cutting the connection through death on the outside while this world was in the process of shutting down would cause problems. That will have to be looked over and fixed."_

"So I am dead."

" _In a sense."_

"Why am I here?" Kirito was starting to hyperventilate.

Cardinal showed no reaction. " _Your data was saved to the server upon your dead. I am not permitted to delete player data until they log off and their account is terminated."_

Kirito's fingers itched for his missing sword. The little girl would have been cute, in a little sibling sort of way, if it weren't for the fact that her face held no emotions. "That still doesn't explain . . ."

" _I can't get rid of you."_ For the first time, Cardinal's voice showed a hint of frustration. " _I can't control you. So,"_ her eyes glowed slightly, " _I made a few changes to your data."_

Kirito swallowed heavily. He wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that.

The little girls face stretched into a grin that didn't really fit her, and Kirito shivered and the impending feeling of doom that hovered over him.

Softly, he voiced the one question that he knew might doom him.

"What changes?"

 **0~o~0**

 **Don't know when I will update this again, but I hope it's within a week.**

 **Have a happy holiday (if you are on holiday)!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online in any of its forms. Nor am I earning any profit from this creation. It is purely a figment of my imagination put on paper. Or, well, the invisible cloud.**

 **Anyway!**

 **Hello everyone and welcome to a new chapter in this story! It's really started to snowball, but I can't really say where this is going yet. We've finally arrived at where the anime begins, and I can't wait to see what happens next. I am just as in the dark as all of you! (Though I do have some scenes in the next chapter already planned out . . .)**

 **I recently moved, and the new internet doesn't like to work properly so I have been having a hard time writing this, but it's getting there. Does anyone else have internet that cuts out on them every ten seconds? It's so frustrating, and totally not worth what we're paying for it.**

 **Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Who will Survive**

His breath frosted over his face as he trudged through the knee high snow, thick cloak pulled around his shoulders and hood covering most of his face. Above him, the sky twinkled with thousands of shimmering stars. In the distance an owl hooted softly, yellow eyes piercing the darkness as it hunted.

Snow and ice crunched as he broke through it with his black boots. All around, the trees stretched tall, mighty evergreens that would never fall even in the most treacherous storms. He came to a stop at the edge of the hill, gazing down over the valley before him. Slowly, a small smile stretched over his face. He grasped the edge of his hood with one gloved hand, and then pulled the furred edge up and off of his head, letting silvery strands rustle as wind brushed through them.

"It's almost time," he whispered, breathing the chilling air in deeply. "Soon, the Players will return."

He looked up to the sky, watching the stars sadly even as the snow blew around him in a small whirlwind. There was a sense of timelessness to this place. Or, rather, time passed on, but it was like a never ending night with no dawn.

"I wonder," his voice was quiet, "Will they be ready?"

With one last glance, Kirito turned away and began to walk back the way he'd come. His silver hair danced in the night, its unearthly color seeming to glow in the darkness as his form faded from view. Below the hill, a large city stretched out, empty, waiting. Cold.

Soon the spring would come.

And with it, the players would return. Kirito knew this like he knew that the wolf packs were hiding in their dens from the cold storm about to hit, or that the Little Nepenthes were in hibernation deep within the forest. The very air whispered its secrets, and he listened to its quiet tales.

Soon, the players would return.

He wondered, would he be ready?

0~o~0

 _One hundred years ago there was a quest to reach the top of Aincrad and once again reconnect the floors of the great castle together. One thousand warriors came together and fought side by side. They were warriors of unparalleled strength and cunning, blessed with the gift of immortality._

 _Even so, they were still unable to clear all of the floors in the time that they were allowed to stay. Discouraged, the warriors decided to leave, vowing that one day they would return in even greater numbers. And so, the Great Exodus began. As the last dawn faded into night Aincrad once again became a lonely world where darkness ruled._

 _Among the warriors was one who became legend. A swordsman so powerful that he stood above his peers in both strength and cunning. His skills were unmatched. Even as his fellow warriors turned their backs on the world that they had fought for, he stayed. Even as the darkness spread over the land, he refused to leave._

 _But it was not to be._

 _From the darkness creatures of yet unknown strength sturred, lured out by the strength of the one who continued to fight. They came upon him in the night, and struck him down. Again and again, he slew the monsters, but even a warrior as great as he could no stand against the horde._

 _Leven by level they drove him back, until he was at the base of the tower, fighting in the empty streets of the town where everything had begun. Even as he fought, he knew that he would never succeed._

 _With his last breath, he vowed that he would one day return to this world and drive out the darkness that inhabited the land. To once again bring forth the light and the life._

 _His vow was heard, even as he faded, and the One Who Watches descended and caught his soul. Because he had decided to stay, his immortality was taken from him. This would be his last life, she knew. This brave warrior, who wished to bring back peace, would fade from this world forever._

 _As she gazed upon his soul, she knew that she could not let that happen. Even so, it was impossible to return him to what he once was, as his physical form had already broken. And so she bestowed on him what was both a curse and a blessing._

 _She bound him to the world, and the world to him. He would be her champion in the darkness, the warrior of the night. With his strength alone, he would hold back the darkness so that one day, others might return to claim the land and pushed forward to the other levels. That was his blessing._

 _But with the blessing, so came the curse. With his strength, he was forbidden from the towers of night that connected the floors. With his youth, he would never age. With the darkness, the light rejected his might._

 _By night a warrior, by day a boy. He could neither advance nor retreat. Forever trapped with the darkness, forever trapped in his youth. All alone._

 _It's been one hundred years since the world was swallowed in darkness, and once more it is time for the warriors of Aincrad to return. Will they accept the lost swordsman who they left behind so long ago, or will they resent him for what he has become?_

 _Only time can tell._

 _For now, a new dawn stretches over Aincrad, for the first time in a hundred years . . ._

0~o~0

Amidst chattering and excited exclamations, the plaza lit up with a light blue glow. A small ball of light hovered in the air for a moment, before suddenly expanding into the shape of a person. As the light faded from around them, the figure of a well endowed young woman was revealed. Dark blue clothing hugged her figure, and she smile slight as she open magenta colored eyes.

Argo, better known as Argo the Rat, breathed in deeply as the world around her came into focus. She tipped her head back, letting her dark hair fall away from her face so that the artificial sunlight could shine down on her pale face. Ah, she'd missed this place. First, though, she'd have to get a cloak.

With a slight jog in her step Argo left the main plaza, ignoring cries of shock and amazement as players who had never experienced VR gaming before spawned in. A few stumbled as they walked, giving away the fact that their Avatars were a different height to their actual selves.

Argo hummed slightly as she found a nearby NPC vendor and purchased a dark cloak which she immediately equipped. She'd learned in the beta that the 'dark and mysterious' look worked better for her than the 'cute but deadly' lady in her line of business. That business, of course, was all about information. She chuckled slightly, mentally rubbing her hands together.

Over the month that she'd been away from Sword Art Online Argo hadn't been idle. She'd compiled all of her information, scoured the forums, and created contacts IRL that transitioned over into the game. All in all, by the end of today, she'd have a working network already set up and running.

The key to being and information broker, after all, is being the one with the best information. And she fancied herself that one.

It had been a lot of work, of course. Hours of study and dedication went into finding and finalizing everything. It was totally worth it, though. She chuckled slightly as she found a small bar tucked away in the corner of one of the streets. Not of a lot of people had logged in yet, but it wouldn't be long before the streets were completely filled with people. She wanted to be settled down in a cosy inn before that happened.

Stepping in she quietly ordered a drink and reserved a room for the night before finding a seat. The first thing that she did after sitting down was to pull up all of her data and start loading it into book format. For beta testers, this book would be a good resource for quests and jobs that they hadn't known about. For Noobs, it would be an absolute necessary as they tried to learn the game from scratch.

Sure, some Beta Players might set aside a little bit of time to help them learn the game, but for the most part they would be on their own. In other words, they'd need to know how to beat the game and that meant information. Information she had. Another chuckle left her.

She was going to be rich!

Even if she sold each copy at just a couple of Col, eventually it would start to add up. And if she restricted the amount that she gave, she could up the price later. It was perfect!

With a few taps on her screen and the sound of breaking glass, a leatherbound book burst into existence in front of her. It wasn't all of the information that she had (why in the world would she do that? She had to keep something for herself to sell at a higher price, after all), just a beginners guide, really. It explained how to use sword skills, where to get the best equipment, how to work the console, join a party, and organize a raid. There was also a list of quests that were both known and unknown in the beta, all for the first level. She was thinking about doing a series of books like this. Releasing one every time they opened a new level.

It was the perfect 'get rich quick' scheme.

Of course, it was all in the game, so it wasn't like it really mattered in real life, but still. Argo loved playing the all knowing character. She flipped through the book, happy to see that it had even converted her neat handwriting and small, hand drawn pictures. This game really was amazing. It looked like a real book that one might find at one of the stalls.

Argo dismissed the book, placing it back in her inventory before picking up her drink and taking a sip. She was supposed to meet up with some of her contacts later, but for now she was content to just stretch out and familiarize herself with the feeling of being back in VR.

It really was quite amazing just how similar it felt to real life, but she wasn't complaining.

As she relaxed, Argo couldn't help but think back over what she had learned in her time on the forums while Sword Art Online was being prepared for release. She wasn't close with a lot of people in the Beta. Being and information broker who tended to charge everyone an arm and a leg for the info they wanted did that. Even so, that hadn't stopped her from having a few people that she might, just a little, consider friends. Not many, but enough that she'd ended up trying to find them IRL.

Maybe it was a little rude to be looking up online friends in the real world, but Argo couldn't help it. She _liked_ knowing everything about everyone.

It had been fairly easy to figure most of them out, too. A lot of people were on the forums, talking about their experiences and what they'd found. It wasn't too hard to track a few stories back to their source.

There was only one person that Argo had trouble with, and that was Kirito.

She and Kirito had never been _close_ , close, but they had been on friendly terms. The lonely solo player was a good customer, and he paid well. Argo had always made sure to keep all of her best information for him, because she knew that he wouldn't just turn around and try and sell it again. He was just a little too antisocial to try, which was part of his charm.

Even with his general avoidance of people, Argo knew enough about finding people online that she knew she should have heard _something_ about him. Anything. Anywhere.

And that's where the problem lay.

Everywhere she looked, there was no Kirito. Oh, there were stories. Other beta players commenting about their meetings and experiences meeting _The Black Swordsman of Sword Art Online_. But those were stories told by other people. Argo could tell that none of them were her Kirito.

In essence, he had no online presence. He'd commented on no forums or discussions. Not even the ones about himself. There wasn't even a mention of him even _visiting_ the forum. No one knew him IRL. No one knew his real name. In essence, once the beta ended Kirito had just up and vanished.

It irritated Argo to no end.

She'd decided that as soon as the game came back on she'd track him down and demand answers. Yeah, it may make her seem like a stalker, but who cares?!

… it might also have something to do with the pit in the bottom of her stomach every time she thought about it. Her gut was telling her not to ignore the lack of information, and her gut hadn't steared her wrong yet.

And there goes her relaxation! Curse Kirito and his enigmatic ways.

With a sigh and a shrug she pulled open her contacts list and scanned over the names. Her eyes settled on one greyed out one, and she sighed again. Kirito must still be logged out. His account name was still registered, just inactive.

Just as she was about to close her list and get up to go buy some gear, a message pinged her consol. Blinking in surprise, Argo clicked it to open the message. It was from one of her old contacts in the beta. He wasn't one of her most faithful information gatherers, more of a gamer than anything else, so to have him contact her so early in the game was a little bit of a surprise.

 **From: Hiro**

 **Check your Log Out button.**

Argo frowned at the short message.

"Check the Log Out button?" she muttered, before quickly clicking through her console. A flick her her fingers pulled up the settings. Her eyes skimmed the first two items before landing on the last button . . .

Her breath hitched.

 _Where is the logout?_

She quickly pulled the message back up and typed out a reply.

 **From: Argo**

 **To: Hiro**

 **Its gone. Has anyone contacted a GM yet?**

Hiro responded a second later, but it wasn't good news. Argo felt the pit in her stomach grown heavier.

 **From: Hiro**

 **To: Argo**

 **We've tried. No one seems to be responding. My party is having a hard time as well. It seems like its more than just us who can't find the log out.**

Argo's reply was immediat.

 **Don't panic, and don't tell anyone else. We don't want people to go into a frenzy until we know what is going on. I'm going to ask around. Come back to the city until I know more. The Developers might not know about the glitch yet.**

At least she hoped that it was a glitch. Why there would be a log out in the beta but not in the final release was a little bit odd. It was such a bit part of the function of the game, it was hard to imagine the developers would just accidentally leave it off. But that's what must have happened.

The alternative was just too horrible to consider.

Argo worked fast, contacting as many of her online contacts as possible with similar instructions. It was still early in the day. Not everyone would be logged on for several hours yet. Hopefully with several people working of figuring out what was going on they could fix the problem before it became to widely known. Mass hysteria was something that Argo would rather not have to deal with.

She just hoped that the dark churning in her gut wasn't the foreboding warning that she thought it was.

0~o~0

Three hours later, Argo wished that, for once, her gut hadn't been right.

The floating red figure hovering over everyone like a reaper of death against the blood red sky told more than enough of the situation.

" _By now you've probably noticed the lack of a certain logout button on your menus . . ."_

No. No no _no_ . . .

" _. . . Already, there have been deaths . . ."_

This couldn't be happening.

" _I've left a little gift for you . . ."_

This as just supposed to be a game. A _game_. What kind of sick person would _do_ this?!

All around her, people started to be enveloped in swirls of blue pixels. As the swirls faded, the forms underneath were revealed to be drastically different from their originals. Girls became guys. Beauty became faded. Young became old and old became young. All around her, people found themselves in a likeness of their really bodies.

Argo felt sick.

Shaking slightly, she glanced down at her own mirror, the ' _gift'_ that Kayaba gave everyone, and felt her vision be obscured in blue. When it faded, the world was several inches taller and her cloak was so long it almost dragged against the ground.

Shaking slightly, she reached up and brushed her fingers against her face. Her _young_ face, much younger than it should be, without her whisker marks.

Her's was not the first scream that echoed through the plaza, and it wouldn't be the last.

The barrier holding them in vanished, and people scrambled to escape the truth of the horror that had just been revealed to them. Argo slipped away with everyone else, shock making her feel numb.

This was one piece of information that she wished wasn't real.

It was all supposed to be a game . . .

Now it was a nightmare.

0~o~0

As the light settled over his features and the wind blew across his face, tugging his hood back, silver rippled back into black. Only a single streak of silver remained, tucked behind his right ear. Strength faded, armor vanished, and swords lost their shine as, for the first time in a hundred years, light spread over the first floor of Aincrad.

Kirito looked out over the land from the top of the hill, listening to the screams and the panic as players were told the true horror of what they had stepped into.

"It's finally begun," he whispered, and then heaved a sigh and tucked his hands into his pockets. "I guess . . . it's time I did some damage control."

He took a step forward, toward the city sprawling below him.

It was a step into the future.

An unknown future.

"I wonder," he said as he stepped toward the front gate, taking note of those that were already running out. Beta testers no doubt. There were sure to be in for a surprise. He glanced up at the sky, eyes tracing the sun that he hadn't see in so long. "I wonder how many will survive.

 **0~o~0**

 **Dun, dun, dun!**

 **Next chapter: The Stone of the Dead, meeting a Samurai, and the Curse of the Night.**

 **Hello everyone! This probably isn't what you were expecting, right? It wasn't what I was expecting, either. I am starting to think that I actually write better without a plot planned out. It doesn't really help with deep, entrenched stories that have lots of hitted plotlines, but hey. A story is a story.**

 **Some of you may be wondering about the whole 'hundred years' thing? Just think of it like the time that the players were away from the game as the game being 'accelerated'. The NPC's have the same storylines and appearances, but they never really change. The real plot here, is that Aincrad has 'evolved'. This is my explanation as to why Aincrad's monsters and Boss's have changed their attack patterns. Even some of the land itself has changed. A lot can happen in a hundred years, even without humans to speed it along.**

 **I also wanted to explore the idea that Kirito has been trapped in Aincrad for over a hundred years, all alone. I like his personality in the anime, but I think that this would make him even more reclusive and hard to get along with. He hasn't had any interaction with anyone for over a hundred years. Who knows what's happened during that time. What kind of person is Kirito now? What will he do? How will he interact with our other characters?**

 **You may also be wondering about the 'silver hair' at night thing . . . be be honest that kind of blindsided me. I knew that I wanted to make him different in appearance from his normal Avatar, and what's farther from black than white (silver)? It's also a whole part of this 'curse' that I have going on. You'll find out more about that later.**

 **As always, if you have comments, questions, or just an idea for the story, please let me know! I love hearing from all of you. I recently moved out of my apartment, so my internet is a little bit picky, but I plan on having a new chapter out by next Saturday at the latest.**

 **I hope that you all enjoy your week! Until Next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.**

 **So, I like my stories to have a lot of emphasis, but I think that the formatting keeps taking out the italicization and bold in some words. Sorry. I tried to get everything, but I am not sure if I got it all. If something doesn't make sense, please let me know.**

 **Chapter 4**

 ** _An Unexpected Meeting_**

The cries of despair and horror had faded by the time that Kirito had wandered close enough to the outer wall to be spotted by the NPC guard that watched over the western gate. Kirito carefully kept himself from reaching for his blade, instead reflexively gripping a small dagger hidden under his dark cloak to calm himself. Going into high stress situations usually meant diving into battle, but that wouldn't help him here. Pausing outside of the gate, Kirito lifted one hand to the gatekeeper and tilted his hand slightly so that the light reflected off the back of his glove and, more importantly, the silver emblem engraved on the black leather. For a second the guard appeared confused, before his eyes lit up in understanding.

In the beta test, the NPC's were little more than scraps of data with key phrases or actions programmed into them. They could do little other that interact on a basic level with the players, and for the most part the players themselves treated them as just another part of the scenery.

After his . . . . death, Kirito had found that the NPC's weren't just stagnant, however. Though their processing was much slower than a humans, they did, in fact, learn. Just like Cardinal. It took a long time, but as the Long Night had continued, they had gained more and more personality the longer Kirito interacted with them.

And one hundred years was definitely a long time.

A small door, hardly noticeable to the side of the open gate, flashed once before unlocking. Kirito tipped his head in thanks and slipped inside, slowly making his way upward until he came back out onto the top of the wall. The guard slowly bowed to him, a distinct air of nervousness hovering around him.

"We did not expect to see you here so soon, Silver Warrior. How may I help you?" the guard asked quietly as he stood from his bow. Kirito resisted the urge to flinch at the title.

The Silver Warrior, Warrior of the Night, Child of the Watcher, The Ageless Swordsman, these were just a few of the titles that Kirito would have rather done without. But one cannot live a hundred years without a reputation being built. Even when he tried to hide away from civilization (cities, towns, wandering NPC's) somehow that just seemed to make it worse. A mysterious figure is much more intriguing than one that fights openly.

Sighing, Kirito gestured for the guard to stand at ease. "The Long Night is over, there is no need to call me by that title anymore," he attempted to console.

The guard twitched slightly before settling again, "Of course, Lord Kirito."

This time, Kirito really did groan. This was one thing he might never be able to correct them on. To the NPC's he was second only to the One Who Watches, or Cardinal as he knew her. To understand why, however, one would have to understand the basis of the culture that had developed over the years.

Unlike what players believed, the humanoid NPC's were not the exact same ones that they had met in the beta. The gift of true immortality was given only to the first thousand players that ventured into Aincrad back in the beta. Everything else had 'temporary revival' or 'immortal object' status. This meant that while an NPC could die and come back again, they would be a blank slate. All of their memories, knowledge, or levels would be reduced to what they started out as or whiped blank. This pattern would continue up until an NPC reached a certain age, which varied from NPC to NPC. Upon reaching that age, they would fade and their apprentice would take over.

Each NPC was given a job that they were to fulfil during their lifetime. When the Fading came close, they would chose an apprentice from the children who had come of age within that year and teach them all that they knew as well as how to work in their profession. After the Fading was complete, the apprentice would then take their master's name and job upon themselves.

There were some Quest NPC's who operated in entire families. Daughters were take over for their mothers, and sons for their fathers, to continue the story that had been scripted before them. Families like these were the ones that suffered the most during the Long Night, and probably why his legend had spread so far. Quest NPC's were also what he liked to call Wandering Characters, and it was hard to avoid civilization when he kept running into them everywhere he turned.

To sum everything up, NPC's lived on accumulated knowledge. Every generation added to the next, which included their stories, scripts and (sadly enough for him) their legends.

Kirito just happened to be the Legend.

With a sigh Kirito tipped his head back in defeat, wincing slightly as his bangs drifted across his eyes. A quick puff of air forced his ever lengthening hair back into place as he turned back to face the guard.

The guard straightened once again as soon as he noticed that Kirito had focused back on him.

Kirito took in a deep breath, his hand drifting to his hair before he caught himself and lowered it again. Quickly he cleared his throat to answer the guard's original question. "What is the situation with the . . . incoming warriors? I noticed that there was a forced teleport earlier?"

The guard appeared relieved. "Ah, yes. Just as was prophesied, the warriors did return - and in greater numbers! - but . . ." he trailed off, "something seems to have changed."

Kirito lifted one eyebrow. He'd received a brief message from Cardinal that the player characters would be in a bit of a panic, which is why he'd come to the City of Beginnings so quickly. He hadn't been told the specifics, just that there had been a last minute change to the game that the players might not be happy with. Yui also seemed worried.

He hated to see Yui worried.

As if realizing that Kirito was still waiting, the guard hurried on, "Everything was going fine. The warriors materialized and began to bargain with the merchants or go to the fields to train. It wasn't until the mass teleportation that things started to get strange. All of the players were moved to the central plaza, and the sky turned red for a brief time."

"The sky turned red?" Kirito interrupted with a mutter and a frown. The red sky, while not unheard of, was still a bad omen. It usually preceded great change. If Kirito were to guess, he'd say that it was a result of the game developers modifying code, but he couldn't be sure. It had been so long since he'd been on the outside. Who knew what had changed . . .

The guard nodded, "Yes. I couldn't see what happened from here of course but . . ." he hesitated again and turned away slightly so that he wasn't looking Kirito in the eye, "The screams echoed."

Kirito winced. "I see. Do you know anything else?"

Shaking his head, the guard replied, "When the players left the plaza they seemed panicked. Some left," he nodded at the gate, "but most just seem to be doing nothing." With a shrug the guard finished, "I can talk to some of the others, but I doubt that they know much more than I do. We don't really get involved in Warrior matters."

Kirito nodded and turned to overlook the city. "Thank you for your advice, Sir guard. It seems that I will have to do some investigating myself."

"The One Who Watches had not told you, then?" the guard asked with surprise.

Kirito snorted and stepped forward until one foot was placed against the stone ridge that kept one from falling off the wall, "She . . . tends to be a little cryptic." He paused to glance back, "Oh, and can you not tell everyone that I'm here? I'd rather the . . . warriors not know who I am."

The guards eyes widened and he bowed. "Of course, Lord Kirito. I wish you safe in your travels. May your steps be swift and your sword sharp."

Kirito let a slightly feral grin sweep over his face as he put more pressure onto the foot leaning against the wall. "You as well. May you let the light guide you through the darkness, that no evil shall enter your abode."

With that, Kirito lept, sailing up and over the wall. The guard had a startled look, but his face vanished from view a Kirito tumbled downward.

It was barely five seconds before Kirito's feet touched lightly against the flat stone rooftop that he'd aimed for. A second leap took him to another, slightly lower perch. Every movement bled off a little more momentum until he finally touched down on the ground with little more than a light tap, his black coat fluttering around him until it settled into his slim form. For any normal level one player, a jump from that height would have meant death. By separating it into a series of jumps, however, the amount of damage he took was reduced to almost nothing.

Kirito sighed as he stood from his landing crouch and glanced around. He'd purposefully chosen a spot where no other players currently were. While he would have to interact with them eventually, it would be better that he kept the full extent of what he could do quiet. He'd had enough experience in the beta to know that humans could be very quick to call cheat when someone seemed to powerful.

Of course, in this form, he really was level one. He just knew a few tricks that only someone who had spent almost their entire life in the game could pull off.

Stretching to his full height, Kirito clenched his fist over his heart and pulled in a deep breath. Ahead of him lay a world that he'd left behind, with people that he thought he'd never see again. Hopefully, he didn't run into anyone that he recognized. Firming his expression, Kirito stepped forward out of the alleyway and into the light.

This would be the first time in over a hundred years that he'd interact with anything other than an artificial intelligence or NPC's.

He hoped that he didn't stand out too much.

From the shadow of a nearby back entrance to an inn a red haired man wearing a matching bandana gaped at the spot that Kirito had landed in, his eyes filled with disbelief.

0~o~0

Frankly, Klein's whole day had been one whole rollercoaster.

Sure, it had started out fine. He'd gotten up with his friends to wait in line for copies of the newest game on the market way before the sun had even thought about rising, then he'd gone home and plugged it in, made breakfast, ordered pizza, organized a time to meet up with his friends in game, and then put the helmet on and logged in.

Even being in the game was amazing. To be able to interact with a gaming world like it was real was indescribable. He'd been quick to buy equipment and head out to the fields to try his own hand at leveling. No doubt his friends were doing the same, though it may be awhile before they could all log in. Some of them had jobs that they couldn't get away from until later.

It was at that point that everything seemed to go wrong. He'd realized that he couldn't remember if he'd turned his small kitchen stove off after he'd made breakfast and so had decided to log off really fast to go check.

The only problem was that . . . well, he couldn't log out.

Like, literally, there was no log out button.

He'd asked around (even if some of the beta testers he'd managed to pick out from the crowd seemed super irritated with him) but no one could figure out what was up with the logout button. All of them agreed that it had to be some kind of bug in the system, but if he was worried that he should probably stay inside of the walls until it got fixed. A few of the beta testers had odd looks on their face when they told him that, though, and they'd been quick to run off afterward.

All in all, he hadn't wanted to think much of it. He was a little worried about his apartment, but he figured the neighbors would notice if smoke started pouring through the vents. What really got him was what one of the players had muttered just before they had rushed off.

To quote them, they said: "Well, that's odd. They had a logout button there in the Beta."

Now, he wasn't much of a programmer, but even he knew that something that had been there and working during the test phase shouldn't have just up and vanished without anyone noticing. That would be a huge strike against the company that made the game. There would be no way that they would purposefully release a faulty product.

Unless someone had added in something that they shouldn't have at the last moment that messed everything up.

Klein didn't want to start pointing fingers, or panicking, but as the hours passed without any reply from the game masters he really started to get worried.

Most of the other players didn't seem to be too worried, though he couldn't tell if it was just him or if they were just putting on a show so that they wouldn't panic others. He'd even arranged to meet up with his friends earlier, at least the ones that had logged in by that point. He couldn't warn anyone outside of the game yet, so he just had to hope that something delayed them from logging in.

And then Five o'clock rolled around, and everything changed.

The forced teleportation, Kayaba's declaration, their avatars turning into real approximations of their humans selves, everyone realizing that they were potentially trapped in a death game . . .

Klein had barely managed to round up all of his friends before one of them ran off and did something stupid.

After the announcement everything was chaos. People screaming and running through the streets, some even getting trampled as they tried to get as far from the central courtyard as possible, it all resulted from that one announcement. Thankfully, no one can die inside of a safe zone or almost fifty more would have shattered in the panic.

After a little bit of discussion, Klein and his group of friends had ended up here, the Lucky Wolf Tavern and Inn. It was far enough away from the center of the city to keep everyone happy, but also not too close to the walls, which might as well represent death. Without someone to teach them, there was a good chance that at least one of their number would die.

Klein didn't like those numbers.

Sadly, within the space of just a few hours, all of the Beta testers he'd managed to point out earlier in the day seemed to have just up and vanished, which didn't spell anything good for anyone.

"Well, I don't believe it!" Issin said and slammed his hand down on the table. As one of Klein's friends, he was usually very calm and collected, but the whole situation had thrown everyone off.

Harry One just fiddled with the mug that he'd bought, looking down into the reflective liquid listlessly.

"What else are we supposed to believe?" Dale asked softly, "That we've been laying around comatose IRL for over seven hours and no one cares enough to yank the helmet off to call us in for dinner? Or maybe they can't?"

"I - just - arg!" Issin growled, his thin figure shaking in frustration.

"Look, guys," Klein interrupted before the conversation could get out of hand. He glanced at the NPC barkeeper that was eyeing them distrustfully. Even though the old man was just an NPC, Klein could almost feel the disapproval of his parties loud voices disrupting the peace of the small dining room. Honestly, he didn't want to know what would happen if his friends pushed their luck. "Whether we believe it or not, right now we can't log out," he sighed and then stood up. Right now, all they were doing was arguing back and forth when they should be working toward actually doing something useful. Sitting around and doing nothing would only invite despair. "Whatever we do doesn't change that fact, but I for one would rather be out there, where I can learn and get stronger." His hands curled into tight fists. "Is it scary? Yes. Is it dangerous? Yes! If we wait around long enough, will the game creators fix the problem? Possibly! But you know what?" He looked up, his eyes blazing with conviction, "I came here to escape living in the real world for a little while. So what if I stay here a little longer than I expected? So what if it's more dangerous? I came to enjoy the game, and so that is what I am going to do!"

In the game, none of the Players technically needed to breath, but it was such an ingrained habit that Klein found himself sucking in large puffs of breath when he finished his rant. His friends were all looking at his with surprise, but he could also see consideration in them.

That's right. They'd come to play the game. They'd chosen to visit this world. Even if there way back was blocked, Klein knew that they would pull through. There was still some worry for the danger, and it was a terrifying worry. None of them had seriously faced death before. Sure, there was always the chance of getting hit in the crosswalk by a car, or being the unlucky target of a mugging back in their world, but it was such a slim chance that no one really thought about it. Here, death seemed to almost hover over their shoulders like a shadow.

Klein knew that he'd have to shake that shadow off, from both himself and from his friends, if they wanted to survive and grow stronger.

The question was, where to start?

With a sigh, Klein pulled himself upright and looked over his friends. He absently noted that several other Players at other tables were also listening attentively and he forced himself not to flush. Just because he wasn't one to lay around and do nothing didn't mean that he was someone to stare at. He swallowed thickly and then cleared his throat.

"That's my opinion, anyway," he said and then tugged lightly at his bandanna before sighing again. "Look, I am going to step out for some fresh air for a moment. You guys think about what I told you, and we will talk about it when I get back, kay?"

With mutters of accent and an exchange of thoughtful looks, Klein made his way out of the back door of the inn. The barkeeper watched him with slight surprise, which might have also had a hint of approval to it but Klein was sure that he was just imagining. NPCs couldn't think for feel for themselves, after all.

Nevertheless, Klein nodded to the old man as he stepped past him and out the back. The door didn't even squeak as he pushed it open and then closed it behind him.

A sigh left him as Klein leaned back against the doorframe. The small alleyway that he found himself in was ridiculously clean, but there were no other players in sight. He was grateful for the quiet.

Knocking his head back against the wood frame, he stared up at the clouds hovering in the sky. Everything was so realistic here. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that it was real. Kayaba had put a lot of effort into this world, and into making it as real as possible. A little too much effort. Klein wasn't usually one to call someone insane, but at the moment that's what Kayaba seemed to be. To trap ten thousand people into a game of death, one had to be at least slightly off their rocker to even consider.

Regardless of what he thought, however, they were still trapped here. And Klein had to somehow find a way to help his friends pull through.

"How, though?" he muttered.

They had no supplies, nor any real knowledge of the game. His original plan had been to snag a beta tester to teach him about how to activate the different skills in the game early on, but that had been postponed when he found out about the logout button.

Now he really wished that he'd insisted someone teach him.

Even knowing where to start would have been something.

It didn't help that he was pretty sure all of the beta testers had already left the city. If his guess was right, they were out there gaining as many levels as fast as possible. The more levels they had, they more they could put into defense and get stronger. They didn't have time to sit around and babysit noobs. Klein had played enough games to know this.

It would be lucky to even find one now that the game had 'officially' begun. If Klein had been one of the beta testers he would have done the same and dragged the rest of this friends with him. With no beta testers to teach the noobs, everyone who wanted to fight but didn't know how would be risking themselves just trying to level out in the fields. There was a lot of risk in doing it without any guidance. In a game like this, it wasn't uncommon to die a few dozen times before getting a handle on the skills as well as where and how to use them.

In a game like this, where death was permanent, they couldn't afford to die once.

Which means that a lot of people were going to try, and they were going to fail, and the survivors would turn their blame on the beta testers who left them.

Yeah, if Klein had been a beta tester, he wouldn't want to broadcast the fact that he was one at all. In a couple of weeks, if not days, beta testers were going to become taboo.

He wanted to bang his head against the wall. Either way he looked at it, this whole situation was just messed up. If the beta testers had stayed to help the new players then there wouldn't be any outstanding players, which were necessary to take on a Boss and progress toward the next level. Because they'd left to level up, however, the majority of players would see them as little more than murders who left them behind to be killed by monsters that they couldn't fight.

The only reason that Klein thought differently is because he was able to think about it from both perspectives. Don't get him wrong, he was still irritated that he wouldn't be able to learn how to fight from a beta tester, but he also knew that he couldn't blame them for being selfish and looking out only for themselves.

As these thoughts were running through his mind there was a flicker of movement above Klein's head. He glanced upward, thinking it was just a cloud, and then his eyes widened.

A dark figure settled on the small ledge above his head. He was like the wind, dark cloak flapping around his slim body. He didn't stay still for even a moment before the figure gently hopped from the ledge and fell gently to the ground in a crouch.

Klein felt like the breath had been stolen from his chest.

 _A beta tester?_

Time seemed to freeze for a moment, and then the figure stood. He glanced around and Klein ducked deeper into the shadows of the doorway. He didn't know why he was hiding, but somehow he knew that he couldn't let himself be seen. Not yet, anyway.

As if determining that no one had seen him, the figure relaxed and looked out toward the entrance of the alleyway. He hesitated for a moment, and then stepped forward and out of the alleyway.

Klein felt conflicted.

 _Do I follow him?_

On one hand, the boy clearly didn't want anyone to know what he could do, which might put Klein and his friends in danger if he other turned out to be the confrontational type. At the same time, though, could Klein afford to ignore the figure?

Somehow, Klein doubted that even most of the Beta testers would have been able to make that jump so gracefully. Not to mention getting onto the rooftops in the first place. So, who was this kid? From his appearance, though he hadn't been able to get a very clear look, the other was young, maybe even a few years younger than Klein himself.

Though this world was very much like their real world, there were still differences. Their bodies were lighter, better for fighting, and even their senses were sharper in most cases. A few hours weren't enough time to completely become accustomed to the way that they could move in this world that they couldn't in the real world. Even beta testers shouldn't have that much control, seeing as they'd been away from the game for over a month before it came out.

It was odd. The boy was odd, and Klein couldn't help but feel uneasy about him.

On the other hand, though, could Klein afford to let his opportunity go.

He bit his lip, looking at the place that the figure had disappeared. And then he made up his mind.

There was no time to go back and tell his friends as he left. He just hoped that his gamble paid off. Gathering up his courage, Klein stepped after the figure and darted out onto the street.

"Hey! You! In the Black Coat!"

Everyone that was on the street paused, but Klein kept his eyes on the figure a few dozen meters away who had frozen slightly. Neighbor moved for a moment, and then the boy turned around, and uneasy look on his face and one hand tucked into the folds of his cloak.

Klein kept his face relaxed with a grin, careful not to let his stress show. Best not to scare the other off. He kept his hands away from his weapon as he put his arms up behind his head and walked forward casually.

The figure grew tense as he drew closer, but Klein didn't pause until he was a few feet away. Grin widening he let his arms drop to his hips. "Care for a drink? I'll pay."

A second passed. Then two. Finally . . .

The boy blinked slowly and then his mouth dropped open in shock, "Uh . . . what?"

Huh. Klein scratched the back of his head. The kids voice was really quite feminine. And now that he was closer, he was actually starting to doubt that the other was a guy at all. The other's face was gently sloped, and the dark hair curved gently around his unblemished jaw. Not to mention the figure. No chest (which is why Klein was still leaning toward the kid being a guy) but the way the coat settled around the other's hips gave them an almost hourglass shape. Okay, awkward, but at least he hadn't called the other out on it yet. Oh well, best not to worry about it.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go get a drink with me. I am new around here and it looks like you know your way around. Spare a few minutes for your senpai?" he asked, his grin turning gentle and a little sheepish. Then, as if as an afterthought, he bowed deeply and clapped his hand together in front of him. "Please?"

There was no answer for a moment, but Klein was determined to stay until the other either pulled his sword on him or left.

Thankfully, neither of those things happened. Klein glanced up at the other cleared their throat. The boy (girl?) had a slight blush on their face. They turned away slightly and glared at the people around them that were watching the scene curiously. There were a few chuckles as the other players and a few NPCs turned back to what they were doing. Finally, the other turned back toward Klein and sighed.

"Look," the other spoke again and then winced, "I'm . . . not the person that you're looking for."

Klein lifted one brow and stood up from his bow. "It's the way that you walk. You have a lot more confidence than everyone else around here right now. Really, I just wanted some pointers before my friends and I head out into the field," he paused and then glanced down slight, face dropping into worry, "Considering the situation, I'd rather take a chance with you knowing more than we do than risk permanent death against the monsters."

The dark haired figure froze and his already pale skin became pasty white. "Permanent death?" he whispered, and Klein grimaced.

"Like I said," Klein sighed, "I just want a few pointers. Right now, me and my buds don't even know how we are supposed to activate the basic sword skills."

For beta testers it might not have hit them that this was all real yet. They'd spent a whole month in this game before, and for it to suddenly be unsafe probably hadn't settled in with some of them yet. They knew the skills they needed to survive. Everyone else . . . didn't.

The kid didn't say anything, though they did side eye Klein with uncertainty. Klein silently decided to just refer the the other as a guy in his head. Hesitantly, the boy replied, though he seemed extremely put off. His skill was still pale as well.

"You just want some help getting started, and nothing else, right?"

Klein wanted to slump in relief, but refrained. Once he could get someone to even consider his request, it was almost a guarantee. Instead Klein just nodded with a smile. "Of course. I won't take too much of your time. Just please," he lowered his head slightly again, "please help me understand this world a little better."

The seconds ticked past, and then the boy sighed and slumped slightly. "Very well," he said softly and then stood up straight, "I will help you. Where do you want to start?"

0~o~0

Argo stared at the black stone that took up most of the dark cathedral. It was huge, stretching past her short form and the few other stranglers that hovered around nervously. It had to be at least ten meters across. Her hands shook as she stepped closer.

The Monument of Life.

The moment she'd heard about it, she'd had to come.

Back in the beta, this whole cathedral was the respawn point for all reviving players. It was a buzz of activity with player joking about how they'd let their guard down to teasing teammates that took a wrong turn in the dungeon. Now, the dark halls and green tinted stain glass windows gave the whole place an empty, haunted feeling.

As it should. No player would ever respawn here. Instead, their name would be stricken from the stone, a permanent reminded of those that they had lost or failed to save.

Approximately 10,000 players were trapped in the game. 10,000 names had etched themselves into the dark stone altar, lettering so small that they were almost illegible in the dim lighting.

Almost three hundred of those names were already crossed out.

She . . . she just had to make sure.

There wasn't any particular order to the names that she could see, and it would probably take forever for her to go over all of them, but today she was just looking for a specific name.

Her eyes jumped between one scratched name to the next, lingering long enough to determine it wasn't who she was looking for.

 _Phoenix._

 _Akatsuki._

 _Ishi._

 _Kanna._

On and on the list went, but the more names she went through, the tighter the vice around her heart grew.

Maybe he hadn't logged in? That was a possibility (a hope), but Argo couldn't bring herself to leave without making sure.

 _Eiko._

 _Daichi._

Argo wasn't sure how long she stayed kneeling by the black stone, but it was long enough for her to lose feeling in her knees and legs. The more names she skimmed over, the more worried she became. What if she had missed it? There were so many names . . .

Her hand paused and her breath hitched. She was only about a third of the way through all of the names, but she didn't need to go any further. She'd been using her fingers to help keep track of where she was at, and they now rested just under the latest name.

A very familiar name.

 _Kirito._

No. No, it couldn't be. She'd tried to contact him before Kayaba's message. He shouldn't have been logged in yet.

Her fingers felt cold as she shakily ran them over the delicately carved characters, and the horizontal slash that ran through them.

No.

Argo wasn't sure when she'd started trembling, but her fingers twitched as she carefully pressed down on the name. Just beneath the name, more characters shimmered into view at the light pressure.

Death by Monster Mob Swarm.

Argo felt as if the flood had dropped out from underneath her.

No. It couldn't be. It _couldn't_ be. Kirito was the strongest Beta Player. He was unbeatable, a true warrior among warriors. He couldn't just . . . die.

But every beta player had been reduced back to their base stats, and she'd already received reports of Beta Testers falling to traps that had changed from the beta. If he'd been caught off guard at a low level . . .

Argo surged to her feet, but this time her trembling wasn't caused by fear.

No.

Her eyes blazed.

Kirito had been her best friend in the Beta, even if he didn't realize it. Yes, she had a lot of contacts and spies that collected information, but people that she actually counted as friends? He'd been the only one.

And Kayaba . . . Kayaba had _murdered_ him.

Her form was stiff as she strode from the cathedral. Any lingering players were quick to get out of her way as she marched between them, despite her short frame.

Kayaba would pay.

And she'd make sure to do it personally.

 **0~o~0**

 **Ah . . . I think that my problem is that I have too many ideas.**

 **I had, like, twenty variations of how this chapter could have gone. It ranged everywhere from Kirito marching straight in through the gate and trying to pretend to be normal but not succeeding, to it actually being Kirito would visited the Monument of Life and overreacting when he saw his own name written down (that might still happen, but later . . .). Kirito meeting Klein was planned, but the way in which they ended up meeting varied. I think that this chapter turned out pretty good, though. What do you think?**

 **As for how Kirito 'died' . . . the subtext that Cardinal applied to him has to be good for something, right? Even if it is only confusing Argo at the moment.**

 **Anyway, have a good week everyone!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online. All rights go to the respective creators. I earn no money off of creating this.**

 **Please DO NOT post this (or any of my other stories) to any other site. I almost pulled all of my stories from fanfiction when I heard that fics were getting stolen and then sold for money on other sites. This is** _ **illegal**_ **and can get you in major trouble. I also do not want anyone posting any of my stories to Archive of Our Own. That is where the majority of the stories are getting taken from.**

 **Beyond that, I hope that you all enjoy the chapter!**

 **Chapter 5**

 _ **Monster**_

 _Dark shadows in the snow. Claws clicking over rough stone and wood. Kirito heard this all as he ran, breath coming in heavy pants. His cloak swirled behind him, stretching outward as if trying to blend in with the trees. Behind him, his pursuers howled._

 _One. Two. Three. At least four of them, but maybe more._

 _Kirio's eyes darted back and forth, desperately searching for an escape, but the safe zones had vanished along with the sunlight._

 _Aincrad's Slumber, some called it. The Eternal Night, when even the Goddess Cardinal turned her gaze away from the world and ignored the cries of her people._

 _There were no safe zones. Not anymore._

 _Even so, these were Shadow Wolves. He could take on one or two without help, but a whole pack was pushing it. Unlike many of the other monsters in Aincrad, Shadow Wolves had an uncanny intelligence. They often lay in wait for unfortunate travelers that might attempt to take the Midnight Road. This pack must have been a roamer, which would explain why he had never encountered them before. Most mobs liked to stay in their own territory. Some didn't._

 _Something flickered out of the corner of Kirito's eyes. Grey irises shot to the left even as muscles coiled. He rolled, feeling claws brush over the back of his head and the tell tail sound of shattering pixels as several strands of hair were clipped from his head._

 _His sword was out within seconds, splitting the wolf in two as in lunged over him. It struck the ground and skidded several feet, a bright red glow shimmering from its belly. Kirito didn't stick around to watch it get back up. The maneuver had cost him his speed, though, and even as he leapt over a fallen log he knew he had made a fatal mistake._

 _Claws scored him across his back, sending him spiraling into the snow banks. With a groan he stood, but didn't run. There was no point now. At the edge of the trees, the shadows danced. Yellow eyes watched him, gleaming, and Kirito could almost feel the chuckles in the low growls echoing around him. They circled him, wary of the sword that had already scored them multiple times before, but unflinching. He was their Running Prey, and this was their fight. They would not back down._

 _Neither would he._

 _Slowly, a soft blue light illuminated Kirito's blade as he brought it to his side. For a second all was still. The snowflakes fell silently, the wind stilled._

 _And then claws flashed and Kirito met them, howl for howl. Like ravage beasts they tore at each other, claws through skin and leather, metal through fur and muscle. One wolf met its end as it lunged forward onto his blade while another took the opportunity to crunch on his shoulder._

 _Kirito screamed, sounding more animal than human._

 _"I can't die here! I won't die here!" he howled into the darkness as he grabbed black fur in his free hand and ripped the wolf off, using it's momentum to roll it over himself and straight into the claws of its companion._

 _Not until Sword Art Online reopened. Not until he could get a message to the outside, to the family that he could barely remember._

 _Again and again, blue metal lit up and claws flashed and red streaks shredded his form._

 _The last wolf, the Alpha, had to be at least double the size of its subordinates. It snarled, crouching. Kirito panted as he readied his sword. Exhaustion tugged at him, but he forced himself to ignore it._

 _And then there were fangs in his throat and Kirito choked as he fell back against the ground, snow crunching under him even as he struggled. He slashed desperately with his sword, eyes flickering to his gage even as it slowly trickled into red and then almost down to nothing._

 _Pain laced through him, so unlike when he had just been a player. And if he had been human, he would already be dead._

 _Pixel shattered, and Kirito felt the pressure on his throat and chest vanish. He gasped for air and glanced at his gage, only to feel his eyes widen._

 _"It's still going down . . ."_

 _The world started to darken around him._

 _"No. Not like this, please. I - I still have something -"_

 _"Will you make a deal, Swordsman?"_

 _Kirito shuddered as the world suddenly greyed. Even the health in his gage paused, as if he had been taken outside of time itself._

 _"What -"_

 _Light, and pain, and the feeling that something was familiar but just out of reach._

 _" **Will you make a deal, Swordsman?** A life for life, an eternal existence. Choose wisely."_

 _Kirito breathed. The light bathed his frozen form, but it brought little comfort. There was something foreboding about this being. Something . . . unnatural._

 _But he had no healing crystals, and no way to make it to town. If he didn't do anything, he would die._

 _"I . . . I will take your deal."_

 _Teeth flashed. "Very well," the voice spoke, and then a gentle, invisible kiss was pressed against his brow. Kirito hissed and clenched his eyes shut as his skin began to burn. "I accept this pact, and your promise."_

 _What promise? Kirito's mind distantly whispered, but he was in too much pain to pay attention. His consciousness started to fade, even as the last, haunting words echoed through his very being._

 _"Should you perish within_ my _world, Swordsman, I will have the right to end you. Remember that."_

0~o~0

The wind blew gently over the grasslands outside of the Town of Beginnings. Kirito tilted his head back slightly to let it ruffle his dark hair.

"The first move is the most important," Kirito said softly, flicking his eyes over to watch his unusual companion, "If you get the position right, the System will guide you through the rest of the motion."

 _Why did I agree to help him, again?_

Ah, yes. While he could talk to NPC's to find out what was going on, talking to an actual player would give him better information. Even before the beta, he hadn't been able to interact with the outside world much. His life had consisted of his wheelchair and then his hospital bed, which meant that he was severely lacking in information. If there was one thing that he knew, it was that a simple game could never be as complex as the world that he had lived in for the last few decades. So, who created it, and for what purpose? He just had to find a way to get that information without seeming like he didn't know.

Already he'd gained a vital piece of information, though he wasn't sure how it fit into the whole puzzle.

 _Permanent Death._

That's what the player had said. Not Certain Death, or just death. Those words had been deliberate.

As if the player firmly believed that they would never revive.

"Ah, like this?" the player, Klein, asked as he tilted his sword awkwardly and swung his other hand out behind him.

Kirito winced. "Not . . . really. You have the angle wrong. Here," he sighed, "Watch closely."

With a quick dip, Kirito scooped up a handful of rocks and plopped one in his right hand. He tossed it a few times, testing the weight, and then bent his knees into a slight crouch, "You want to be solidly balanced or the skill won't catch correctly. But if you get it right, and activate a skill at the same time," He fingered the pebble between his fingertips and then let it rest between the nails of his middle and index finger, perfectly balanced in the bladelike formation. Within moments, the pebble began to glow, and Kirito felt a soft buzz of power sizzle up his arm and into his shoulder. He held it in for a moment so Klein could see, and then let it go.

With a hiss and a snap, Kirito lunged forward and swung his arm toward his target. The pebble launched from his hand and struck the grey boar on its back. With a squeal, the boar kicked out its legs and spun to face them, eyes glowing with rage.

"You get that," Kirito finished, standing straight again.

"Woah," Klein squinted and scratched the back of his head. "You really do know what you're doing."

Kirito shrugged, "It comes with the territory," he glanced over at the player, "Anyway, I drew its arggo. Do you want to try and activate the skill now?"

"Oh," Klein blinked, "Right, that's what we are here for. Sure, just let me . . ." he trailed off as he tilted his blade so that it was horizontal to his face and fell into a crouch.

The boar reared upward and snorted. The moment its hooves hit the ground again it charged. Kirito watched Klein carefully. The other's form was correct, the sword was in the right place. All that was left was for the sword skill to activate and -

The boar locked eyes with Klein, and he just . . . froze.

"Hey," Kirito barked, straightening from his slight slouch and reaching for his own blade, "What's wrong-"

Klein's whole form trembled and, just before the boar rammed into him, he leapt out of the way. The boar trotted a few paces forward and huffed loudly, tossing his head back and forth as it searched for more enemies. After a moment it calmed down and went back to grazing peacefully. These monsters were perfect for beginners. They might be quick to anger, but they were just as quick to forget and move on.

They were a bit larger and more intimidating that a slime would have been, but that was no reason for Klein to react as he did. The boar had very little attack power. You'd only die if you ended up angering an entire swarm without the levels to back up your sword skills.

Kirito frowned and glanced over at Klein, who had collapsed with his head buried in his hands. The other's sword lay abandoned on his right. Kirito's eyes sharpened into a slightly irritated glare.

"What happened? You had the movement right, why didn't you activate the skill?" he sighed. Hesitating in the field could get you killed. Hesitate and you die, strike and you might live. That's how this world worked. Sure, it might be different for the players, but that didn't mean that it wasn't traumatic.

This was a VRMMO, not an MMO. Even if you didn't really die, the idea that if this had all been real you would be dead, combined with the phantom sensations of shattering into nothing before respawning, still affected some people that he'd known from the Beta in a bad way. After he'd woken back up in this world following the closure of the beta test, it had been hard to adjust to the knowledge that if he did die Cardinal might just shut him down permanently.

"I just-" Klein was muttering under his breath, tugging at the slightly longer fringe of hair he had clutched between his fingers.

Kirito tilted his head and a frown and knelt down in front of the player. "Hey," he put a hand on Klein's shoulder, "Seriously, what's wrong? The boars aren't that scary."

Klein sighed and slumped heavily under Kirito's hand. "I just lost my cool for a moment, man. It's hard getting used to the idea, you know."

With a frown Kirito tilted his head, "Killing the boar?"

"No," Klein's hair swayed as he shook his head and leaned back into the grass, "The fact that if our HP drops below zero we die in real life too, it terrifies most people. Some probably won't even leave the town, honestly. Facing that boar, it kinda just sunk in, you know? Even losing a little bit of HP could be devastating in some cases."

Kirito's non-existent heart froze.

 _Die in real life._

To the players, this was just a game. Should be just a game.

But Aincrad had always been a little too real to be just another game.

"Well," Klein shuffled slightly and grabbed his sword, "Whether I die or survive, it relies on me being able to fight," he sighed, "I guess I will just have to try again. I can't let my own mind hold me back," he chuckled softly, although it sounded a little broken.

Kirito watched the player stand, reposition, and then activate the skill. Not toward a target this time. That was probably a good idea. Kirito was still reeling over what he had learned.

 _So, you die in the game and you die in the real world._

" _Should you perish within my world, Swordsman, I will have the right to end you. Remember that._ "

Kirito shivered and glanced up at the darkening sky with dread in his heart as Klein continued to practice.

Dying in here is just as permanent as dying out there for all of these players. They are desperate, and desperate people do desperate things.

He swallowed thickly.

 _But if players can die in the real world . . ._

The artificial sun glowed a bright, shimmering red as it sunk toward the edge of Aincrad. Like invisible walls trapping thousands of people, the first floor of the floating castle slowly descended into night.

 _Then what does that make me?_

 _After all . . ._

 _I am already dead._

0~o~0

It's smooth, gleaming surface mocked her with its familiar curve. Gently, Suguha ran her hand over the metal, remembering the small knicks and scratches where another familiar helmet had once been scarred from being dropped too many times. Even if he couldn't move much, Kirito hated having other people have to care for him. He'd always tried to get everything set up himself, when he had a good day, which left more than a few battle scars on the outer surface of the device.

A Sword Art Online HeadGear, just like her brother's; two months ago she'd brought his back from the hospital and packed it away in a box that now sat in the empty bedroom next to hers. Now, her very own HeadGear sat at the edge of her bed.

When she'd come home from Kendo practice, her mother had quietly told her that a package had arrived and was waiting for her in her room. There was a haunted look to her, but it wasn't much different than the one that she'd started wearing since the moment they heard her brother's diagnosis.

There was a letter in the box as well, and Suguha shook slightly as she read the sender's name.

Akihiko Kayaba

Suguha's fingers trembled as she tore open the flimsy paper.

 _ **Dear Mss. Kirigaya,**_

 _ **When I heard about your brother's condition I was deeply touched by your decision to let him spend his remaining time within Aincrad. It is truly an honor to have had such a courageous boy experience the world that I once dreamed of. Young Mr. Kirigaya came to my notice while in the game. He was our best player, and not just for the time that he spent there but also his spirit. While he played Sword Art Online, he didn't treat it as a game, but as another reality. It was as if I were seeing my dreams realized for the first time. When I was informed of his passing, I do confess that I mourned. The world has been robbed of not only an excellent player, but also an exceptional man.**_

 _ **Even though I cannot continue to see him progress, I wanted to do something for you, the sister that made it all possible. You made me see that my vision is truly possible. Your brother loved this world, and treated it like his own. I hope that you get to see your brother's world as he saw it.**_

 _ **Aincrad is waiting for you, Mss. Kirigaya. I look forward to seeing you there.**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

 _ **Akihiko Kayaba**_

The paper in her hands blurred, and she hastily scrubbed at her eyes with the edge of her sweater.

 _My brother's world, he said._

 _Kazuto's world._

And truly, it really had been. Every time she had walked into his hospital room he would light up and his eyes would flicker to the headset on the table. It had been his world more than the real world had been, that was for sure.

 _I wonder . . ._

Despite her effort, tears still managed to smudge the ink on the handwritten letter.

 _I wonder what that world is like._

She gently folded the paper and put it to the side, eyes lingering on the headgear. When she'd first given the headgear to Kazuto, and she'd seen his joy, she felt a twinge of jealousy. Why did that world get to see him smile? To run? To be happy?

Why couldn't she run with him?

If her brother's dream had been to be able to stand and run again, her's had been to be by his side as he did so.

 _He loved that world, because it gave him everything that I could not._

She stroked the metal, imagining setting it up and plugging it into the wall. She imagined setting it over her head and feeling the pressure of the padding against the back of her skull as she lay on the bed.

She imagined seeing her brother, waiting for her on the other side, even if only in echoing memory and people who knew him.

 _What did he see in that world?_

Her fingers paused.

 _I want to see that world._

Lips thinned into a sharp line and her heart ached.

 _But . . . not today. I am not ready yet. But someday . . . someday I will be._

Gently, she folded the box back over the headgear and placed it on the floor. The letter she set on her nightstand, as a reminder.

 _Wait for me, Kazuto. I just need a little longer._

Suguha heard the water running as she trudged back down the stairs to help her mother get dinner ready. It was getting late, and Father would be home from work soon. Dishes clanked gently as the TV droned on in the background. She paused and closed her eyes, imagining she could hear her brother's voice as he spoke with their mom as he watched the television.

Her vision vanished with the sound of shattering glass. Suguha's eyes shot open and she dashed down the stairs, skidding to a halt to the entrance of the kitchen.

"Mom, what happened? Are you okay?" she asked, eyes wide. Mom hadn't dropped a dish for years -

The elder Kirigaya was pale and shaking. One hand clutched a damp rag in a white knuckled grip, while the other gripped the counter in front of her, probably the only thing keeping her standing. She didn't even turn as Suguha called out to her. Instead, her gaze was locked on the television.

Suguha hadn't really been paying attention to it, more focused on her mother, but as she followed the elder's gaze she felt the blood fall from her face.

Ambulances flashed and a police line held back the crowd as a small figure was wheeled out of a house, familiar metal gleaming on their head. In the corner, a newscaster spoke urgently.

 _"The death toll has just passed three hundred. **Again, we want to warn the public, if you have a child or someone you know playing Sword Art Online, do not remove their headgear.** Experts are working on the situation now, but as of yet there is no sure way -"_

Suguha's lungs froze, her mind drifting back to the letter sitting oh so innocently on her nightstand.

 ** _Aincrad is waiting for you, Mss. Kirigaya. I look forward to seeing you there._**

"Kayaba," she snarled, eyes flashing, "You **Monster.** "

0~o~0

 **And . . . that's it, folks. Hope you all enjoyed it!**

 **It's been a crazy few months, to be honest. I was really surprised when my Beta Reader pointed out that I hadn't posed to this story in over a year. It really hasn't felt like that long, but I guess time flies when the world goes a little wacky. I currently live in an area that tracks your phone to see if you are leaving a specific range. We aren't stopped or anything, but it's annoying to have to fill out the survey every time you need to leave for something. This chapter has been half finished for forever, but I just never had the will to go back and write up the rest. Some people have problems coming up with the '** _ **what happens next'**_ **, but my problem is the, '** _ **how do I make this situation sound**_ **real'?**

 **Thanks again to my Beta Reader for going over this and pointing out places that could be improved or clarified. They are a lifesaver.**

 **If anyone is interested in Webtoons, I recently started writing one. I can't guarantee it's any good, since I am just starting out. Switching from writing where you can just** _ **say**_ **what the character's expression is, to actually having to draw that expression, at multiple angles, is tough. Adding in the script is even tougher. So it's a bit of a trail run, but I would love some feedback if anyone is interested. It's called A Monster's Secret Dream by Goldenbrook on Webtoons. It takes the premise that instead of being from the Adventurers point of view (entering the dungeon to the clear out the monsters and gather supplies) it's from the monster's who actually live in the dungeon. What if they have their own dreams? Their own societies? What if the adventurers are actually viewed as bandits, attacking outlying settlements and stealing resources? What if the Boss monsters son was born a little** _ **too**_ **different, more human than monster? Would he bring peace to both races . . . or would he lead everything into destruction?**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I would love some feedback if you have any! Not really sure when the next chapter will be out. I think that the next update on my list is Villain in Another World, followed by Puppet Strings. There is another idea hovering around the back of my head that might also sneak in there somewhere as well. After that, we will see. Hopefully I can get back to this within a month.**

 **Stay safe out there!**

 **(Updated 4/-/2020)**


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